A Thanksgiving Miracle
by LaceyLouLou82
Summary: "I never imagined that you, " He closed his eyes, " that you were here just waiting for me." A fluffy little Leddie Thanksgiving story. This is completely alternate history/alternate universe. Nothing at all to do with the show plot lines.


**Author's note: Totally fluffy. I have no idea where this came from. I was stuffing my turkey this morning and it popped in my head. Luckily I had a whole lot of time before my guests arrived. No time for a beta or spell check so let's just pretend the hundred of errors aren't really there. Also, complete one shot here. No followups. It's completely alternate history and universe...in case it's not clear...Leddie were lifelong best friends who feel in love during high school. He left to follow his dreams without a word of goodbye to Loren because they had a fight and he was angry. And well he's a guy. Read and review please and Happy Thanksgiving! **

Nervous energy hummed through his body as he took a right onto the road that his father now resided on. The neighbor hood was quiet and well kept. Of course it was the suburbs so he didn't really expect anything less. He reached forward and turned the volume on his stereo down. It is probably not appropriate to blare music, even if it's your own, in this neighborhood on a holiday

He hated Holidays. He didn't use to though. There was a time when spending the day sitting on the couch with the people that he loved watching football and cheesy commercial while stuffing himself to the gills with food had been one of his favorite past times. That was before he ruined everything though. Now, he hated every single holiday.

Finally getting closer to the house, he downshifted and slowed his speed. Pulling into the driveway, he took a minute to look at the house. It still looked the same except for the garden in the side yard. That was his father's doing no doubt. He couldn't help but smile at that.

Max Duran had taken to the suburban life like a fish in water. He loved lazing around the house on Saturday and Sunday. He loved mowing the lawn and watering the garden. He loved doing household repairs. Most important of all though, he loved Nora Tate. His former rock star father has officially been domesticated. I guess that's what the love of a good woman will do to you, though.

Putting his car in park and turning the engine off, Eddie Duran sat in his car staring at the house. He should go in. He knew they were expecting him. It was the first time in five years that he had accepted his stepmother's invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. She had been as shocked as he had been when he uttered the words, "I'll be there" during their weekly call last week. He'd wanted to take the words back as soon as he'd said them but the joyful tone that Nora's voice held after it had made that impossible. So here he was.

A second car pulled into the driveway and he turned to his left to see the smiling face of Melissa Sanders. She was talking to a dark haired man and when she finally noticed him in his car, her smile disappeared. He expected no less , though. He'd hurt her best friend. There was no reason that Melissa or anyone else should be happy to have him here. He looked away from her and let out a loud sigh.

His first instinct was to turn the car back on and leave. Running was always his go to option. But running is why he was so miserable in his life. The truth of the matter was that running hadn't done anything good for him at all. Running away had ruined his life.

He took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. He slowly exited the car and closed the door behind him at the same time that Melissa did. She looked over at him. A warning glint in her brown eyes. Her companion exited from the passenger side. He looked at Eddie and gave him a smile. "Hey, man. I'm Nathan." He held out his hand. "I'm Mel's fiancee."

"Eddie." He shook the man's hand and looked over his shoulder to where Mel was still standing on the driver's side. " Mel and I used to be friends." The brunette snorted. "Kind of."

Nathan nodded, "Oh, yes. Melissa and the others have mentioned you." He let his hand drop to his side after the handshake and shrugged his shoulders. " It's nice to finally meet you."

Mel came around to stand beside him. "Hello, Eddie. It's been a long time. I'm surprised to see you here." Her brown eyes bore into with an intensity that he can't say that he's missed one bit. Melissa was always good at intimidating him. "Nora told us, of course, but I thought for sure you'd be a no show. I mean, it's the one thing we can count on from you." With her dig firmly in his face, Melissa turned and made her way up the driveway towards the house.

Eddie let out another sigh and ran his hand through his hair. " I deserved that." He said out loud.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. Maybe not. Mel has this problem with holding a grudge. Trust me, it's not just you. When we first started dating, I forgot that she was allergic to peanuts and she still to this day doesn't let me forget it. That was four years ago." He clapped Eddie on the back as they started to walk towards the house. " Mel is just protective of Loren. You get that right?"

Of course he did. It was one of the things that he admired the most about her. Her unending loyalty to Loren. "Yes, I get that." There was a time, long away, when he himself had been loyal to Loren. She had been all that mattered. She still was if he was perfectly honest with himself. She was the reason that he was here today.

They made it to the door and Eddie held back for a minute. Nathan looked back at him. " You may as well get it over with. Otherwise it's going to be a long day."

"It's already going to be a long day." He grumbled as he took the final step towards the front door. He could do this. He needed to do this. It was way past time for him to face the mistakes that he made. And by mistakes he meant Loren. Every single on of them had to do with her.

He followed Nathan inside as the other guy opened the door. The sounds of Christmas music playing from the kitchen made his mouth hitch up at the corner. It was a Tate family tradition, one that he had missed terribly. Of course it was just one of the things he missed. Even if he didn't have the right to miss them anymore.

Nathan moved with ease into the house, obviously it wasn't his first time here. He walked to where Melissa was standing by the TV talking to Phil and Adriana. They all fit in here perfectly as extended family to the Tate-Duran household. He didn't. Not anymore. He slowly moved from the entryway and into the kitchen where he found his father and Nora arguing good naturedly over a boiling pot on the stove. But he ignored them. Instead his eyes went to the dark haired beauty that we standing at the counter putting little marshmallows on a casserole dish. Loren. He closed his eyes to get his reaction to her in check. When he opened his eyes, she was still facing the counter with her back to him. She hadn't seen him yet.

Her long hair was shorter now. It rested in soft waves just above her shoulders. He'd always loved when she wore her hair curly. He couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face at the fact that she was wearing it that way now. She was dressed in fitting black pants and the deep purple sweater that he had given her for the last Christmas they had spent together. It made his heart race to know that no only did she still have it, she still wore it as well. Again he closed his eyes to settle himself. Loren Tate was the only girl he'd ever known who could have the ability to turn him inside out without even facing him. Opening his eyes back up, he found his father and Nora smiling at him. He smiled back. "Hey"

The sound of his voice caused Loren's movements to stop. He watched as she laid the bag of marshmallows down and slowly turned towards him. If he thought that seeing the glimpse of her from behind had been his undoing, he'd been wrong. Seeing her face. Seeing her smile. Both affected him more than ever. But it was the silver chain around her neck that caused his knees to buckle. The silver chain with the engagement ring hanging from it. Her ring. The one that he had given her. He closed his eyes again, but it was no use. There would be no settling himself this time.

"Eddie? Are you okay?" Her voice was a cross between amused and worried. He could feel her presence next to him. The warmth she always carried around and the smell of vanilla that she always wore surrounded him. He opened his eyes to find himself locked into her warm brown ones. They weren't angry or bitter, like he'd feared. They were warm and happy.

Which confused him. " Ye...Yes. I'm fine. "

"Okay, good. You freaked me out there for a minute." She let her eyes travel over him. A soft smile spread across her lips as she eyed his brown leather jacket. It had been a gift from her. It was his favorite ever. " You look good, Eddie."

"Thank you. So do you. " He couldn't help himself and took the opportunity to let his eyes travel as hers had. He took in every inch of her appreciatively. Judging by the way her cheeks flushed, he still affected her every bit as much as she did him. Five years be damned. " Really good."

Eddie turned to talk to his father and Nora but they were gone. Somehow they had snuck out of the kitchen without him noticing. He turned back to Loren. " I guess I should have paid them more attention."

Loren laughed, the sound doing things to his heart that he hadn't experienced in way too long. "No, I guess they just wanted to give us a minute. Why do you look so nervous?"

"Why shouldn't I? Aren't I like public enemy number one around here?"

She laughed again, " Seriously? Is that what you think? That you aren't welcome? Eddie, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." She turned back to the counter and grabbed her bag of marshmallows " You have always been and will always be welcome here. You are family. And before that, you were my best friend." She tossed an extra bag of fluffy white goodness over her shoulder which he caught just before it landed on the floor. " There is another dish of sweet potatoes on the other counter. Get to work, Duran."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" He couldn't help himself. He had to get this over with.

Loren turned back around. " It's not like we had some big messy breakup Eddie. You left to follow your dreams. And last I checked have three best selling records in five years is definitely succeeding in following said dreams. I'm proud of you."

The shock of her words forced him to take a couple of steps back. This is not the reception that he was expecting. Not from her. " I don't understand why you don't hate me. I hurt you. I let you down."

She laughed again, " Seriously? Eddie, I have ever single one of your albums. I have read the dedications. I have read the lyrics. Do you think that I don't know those songs, all of them, are about me? About us?" She turned back around to face him. " I'm not trying to sound conceited or vain or anything, but I know they are."

"They are." He confirmed.

She smiled. " You didn't disappoint me or let me down. We were just kids when we made those promises to each other. We were 16 and 18. You graduated and decided to try something that you always wanted to try. I don't hate you for that. I could never hate you for anything." She moved to stand in front of him. " Though, I have to tell you, given that we never officially broke up, I'm slightly more that a little annoyed about all the times you've posed on the cover of tabloids with that vile Chloe Carter."

"Loren, I swear to you..." He started

Loren cut him off, " I know that. You aren't a cheater Eddie. You never have been. Even if you were interested in someone else, I know that you would have gotten in touch with me to end things, officially." She reached out to touch him. " But you never did."

He looked away ashamed at himself for never contacting her. " I thought you hated me. After the way I left."

"We had a fight, Eddie." She locked her fingers with his. "Apparently, a fight that lasted for five years. But never once did I believe that you wouldn't come back someday." She released his hand and lifted the chain around her neck. " When you gave me this ring, you promised me that someday I would be your wife. It's all I ever wanted, even at 16. It's all I want now at 21."

Shock took over his body. He never expected for her to still feel the same way. He, of course, did. But he'd hurt her. He'd left without so much as a goodbye. " I can't...Loren, I don't understand this. Why aren't you angry with me?" He moved away from her and started pacing. " I prepared myself for your anger. For everyone's. I left here, I bailed on you and on the future we planned out. Why aren't you angry?"

"What good would anger do, Eddie? It wouldn't change anything?" She reached for his hand again. " Let me ask you something. When Jake came to you on graduation night and offered you that record deal, what was the first thing you thought about?"

"You."

She smiled, " what did you think?"

"That you would be proud of me. That you would throw me a party and be the first in line for tickets to every show. That you would force me to take the opportunity even if it meant postponing all our plans." He said on a sigh.

Loren nodded, " You thought about your 16 year old girlfriend when everything that you have ever dreamed of was handed to you. Do you know what that tells me?"

He really didn't. Not at all. He was a jerk. That's what it told him. The fact that he thought of her and still took the offer made him a class a jerk. He lifted his shoulders and sighed again.

"It tells me that you are the most amazing guy I've ever known."

Seriously? "That doesn't make any sense Loren. I left you. I didn't even say goodbye. I didn't stay in touch. I'm a jerk."

"When you are done with this whole self destructive routine, I have more to say." She told him releasing his hand and folding her arms across her chest. " Do you know how many guys in your position would have jumped at the chance without even considering their girlfriend? You didn't do that. You talked to me. We decided together that you should take the record deal. Sure we argued the day before you left, but that didn't mean that we were over. You and I both know each other well enough to know that we need words, actual words to know it's over. I never said them. You never said them. It wasn't over." Dropping her hand again, she smiled, " I've been right here the whole time knowing that someday you would come back."

"I never came back because I thought you hated me." He admitted.

She nodded, " I figured." She reached for his hand again. " Eddie, I have loved you my entire life, do you really think something like a fabulous career as a rock star is going to make me stop?"

"I never imagined that you, " He closed his eyes, " that you were here just waiting for me."

"Look at me." He opened his eyes and lost himself in her brown orbs. " I love you as much now as I ever have. I realize that we've both grown up and changed. We want different things now than we did back then. I don't want to be a teacher anymore. I'm per-law. I don't even know where that came from, but here it is. And I live in the valley. Remember how I couldn't wait to move out of here so that I could live in the city?" At his nod, she continued, " I have an apartment in the valley. Two miles from here. See, things change. Plans change. People change." She lifted his hand up and placed it over her heart. " But what the heart truly wants never changes." She takes a step closer. " Do you still love me?"

"Yes. I haven't stopped for one minute."

She smiled, "then nothing else matters. You've done the music thing. I finished high school and started college. We are in a better place now than we were on that Thanksgiving all those years ago when we made those promises to get married and live happily ever after. Back then it was wishful thinking from high school kids. Now it's more tangible."

"What are you saying?" He hoped that his mind had jumped to the right conclusion.

She smiled again. He would never get over that smile of hers. "I'm saying that distance and time hasn't changed anything for me Eddie. I still want to marry you and live happily ever after."

Suddenly all the tension and anxiety he had been feeling left his body. This is all he's ever wanted. Loren. Even after all his dreams had started coming true, it wasn't the same without her by his side. "You know that leaving had nothing to do with you or how I felt, still feel about you, right? I love you. I have loved you since your smarts landed you in my AP English class your freshman year. You were so beautiful. Your smile light up the whole room. " He reached out and touched her face, " You are everything to me, Loren Tate. Even when I moved to New York to chase my stupid dreams, you were in my head and in my heart. I couldn't bare to come back here and find you with someone else. I had no idea that you would be here just waiting for me."

"Well, I should tell you that Phil took me to Prom. Adriana was having a temper tantrum about gaining weight and refused to go so he and I went together, as friends." She smiled. "He's a terrible dancer. " She reached up and touched his cheek, "and he wasn't you."

"I'm so sorry." Eddie said. " I never should have left like that."

"It doesn't matter now. It's done. You're back now. And we have the whole weekend to talk about what happens next. Either you stay here or I transfer to a school in New York. Either way, this whole distance thing is over."

Eddie smiled. It still felt foreign to him. Smiling was something he'd grown accustomed to doing because he had to, but because he wanted to. He hadn't wanted to in a very very long time. The last time was with Loren. Every time was with Loren. "You want to move to New York?"

"Not really. But I will if I have to." She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. " Whatever it takes. You aren't leaving me again. And I'm not letting you leave again."

"I should probably mention that I signed on with Mardsen Management...West Coast division before I caught my flight this morning."

Loren's smile was bright. " You are planning to stay?"

" The second that I opened my mouth and said I would come to Thanksgiving, I knew that I was never leaving again. Even if you hated me. I can't walk away again. Not ever." He reached up and put his hand on her cheek this time. " I told Jake that if he couldn't let me relocate that I'm done when my contract is done." He was the one leaning in for the kiss this time. " My plan was to get through today, figuring that you and everyone else hated me, and then come up with a way to make everything up to you. I never expected this."

She smiled again, " I always knew you would come back someday and I had to be ready. I am ready. We are ready. You don't know how many times Mel and everyone else told me that I should just move on. But I couldn't. What I felt for you was real. Even when I was 16. What I felt for you when you walked in here today, it was even more intense than it was then." Her shoulders lifted slightly and she tilted her head to the side. " It probably doesn't make any sense, right? I mean we haven't so much as spoken in five years, yet you walk in here and my stomach drops to my knees and my pulse races."

"It makes sense to me. It's how I felt too." He brushed his thumb against her cheek. " I thought this would be the worst Thanksgiving ever. I thought I would be sitting here feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. But instead I'm standing here thinking that I have to be the most blessed jerk in the world."

Loren leaned in to kiss him again. " It's too early for a Christmas miracle, so let's just chalk it up to a Thanksgiving miracle." This time when she kissed him, it wasn't chaste at all as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like she'd been wanting, like he'd been wanting to for the last five years. Thanksgiving miracle, indeed.


End file.
